treatment sequence

First consultation: The first step to overcoming infertility is a detailed conversation between doctor and couple. We can then explain the sequence of the therapy. We advise patients to begin taking folic acid long before the treatment is planned. If due to considerable distance between our clinic and your home you cannot come to Wels for a first consultation, it is possible (in strict agreement with our doctors) for your stimulation to be carried out by a gynaecologist in your area.

If you decide on IVF treatment at the KinderWunschKlinik in Wels or Vienna, you will receive a hand-out and explanation of the medication at the clinic. A trained assistant is available to answer any queries 24 hours a day (also queries on the telephone outside of office hours).

Preparation: The treatment usually begins with the immobilisation of the ovarian function. During this phase our medical team will monitor you carefully. The goal of the hormone stimulation is to let several oocytes grow in the ovaries during the stimulation. During the stimulation phase, two ultrasounds are required (on the fifth and eighth stimulation day) to measure the diameter and number of follicles in each ovary and also to control the build-up of the uterine mucosa. These check-ups can be carried out at the clinic, or by your own gynaecologist.

Egg maturation: When blood and ultrasound values show that the optimal moment has arrived, the final maturation of the eggs will have occurred. The ovulation is then artificially triggered by injection.

Extraction of eggs (= puncture): Approximately 35.5 hours after the ovulation has been triggered, the oocytes are punctured painlessly under a light anaesthetic. Most patients experience very little discomfort and are ready to leave the anaesthetic recovery room soon afterwards. At the same time as the eggs are being extracted, your partner is asked to give a sperm sample. You can leave the clinic with your partner whenever you feel ready.

Egg search and laboratory phase: A merging of eggs and sperm cells is brought about outside the body through IVF, IVM, ICSI or P-ICSI. Embryos develop from the fertilised eggs and stay in the incubator for up to five days. The KinderWunschKlinik laboratory teams carefully evaluate the development of the embryos daily.

Insertion of the embryos (embryo transfer): Modern techniques used at the KinderWunschKlinik Wels and Vienna allow the embryos to mature until the blastocyst stage and only then are they inserted into the uterus. This method increases the chances of pregnancy. A maximum of two embryos, after consultation with both partners, are transferred into the uterus. The KinderWunschKlinik doctor will offer you the possibility of having the other embryos (provided that they are of good quality) cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen for any future fertility treatment.

The luteal phase is a time for you to wait and hope. Two weeks after the embryo transfer we can assess if the treatment was successful.

To assess if the treatment was successful, we ask you to give a blood sample in our clinic to determine the ßHCG value (ßHCG = pregnancy hormone). If you are pregnant the value will be higher than 50 units per millilitre.